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From a sermon delivered on the Sunday of the Holy Cross, March 11, 2007.
This third Sunday of Lent is the day we venerate the Holy Cross. Why do we do this? What do we mean when speak of the cross? Sure, we know that Jesus was crucified on the cross, but is there more that we don't understand? To answer these questions we have to go back to the book of Genesis, particularly the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
God loves us. We see this when God created Adam and Eve (who in the scriptural text represent all mankind) in His image and likeness. God gave Adam and Eve the "breath of life." He gave them dominion over all created things (Gen.1:26); He blessed them and commanded them to procreate (Gen. 1:28); and He gave them food (Gen. 1:29). All the things necessary and sufficient for life were included.
Most important was that God gave Himself. Eden was considered paradise because Adam and Eve existed in harmony with God drawing freely from the life that flowed from Him. There was no death, sorrow, disease, or suffering because the communion with God was complete. Love, however, presumes a radical freedom. Love cannot be coerced. Just as God is free to love His creation, so were Adam and Eve free to love God in return.
This was the purpose of the tree in the Garden. God said that Adam and Eve could eat anything in the Garden except the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If they ate of this tree, they would die (Gen. 2:15-17). God does not want mankind to die.
The devil in the form of a serpent tempts the woman to eat of the tree by lying to her saying, "You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Gen. 3:4-5).
It was a subtle lie, and like most lies it contained a shred of truth. The Church Fathers taught that the disobedience of Adam and Eve did indeed open their eyes to good and evil, but made them captive to the evil as well. Had they obeyed God, they may have grown in their knowledge and understanding to perceive the same things without falling from the grace of God.
The disobedience had many consequences, the most evident being physical death (in theological terms: the separation of the soul from the body). "You are dust and to the dust you shall return" God tells Adam and Eve (Gen.3:19). They were expelled from the Garden and an angel brandishing a flaming sword was set to guard the gate and guard the Tree of Life (Gen.3:24).
What does all this have to do with the Crucifixion Cross of Christ?
God wanted Adam and Eve to become like Him. They were to share in the life that has its source in Him. That's why He created them in His image and likeness. But the life He offered could only be experienced in obedience to Him as a free response to His love. God's love, in other words, always presumes a radical freedom in the object of His love because without freedom, it is impossible for love to be returned. Note how no prohibition existed against eating from the Tree of Life, but only against the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
The Tree of Life is immortality or eternal life. "Then the Lord God said, 'Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever" (Gen.3:22). Note the gravity of this passage. If death had not entered the world, if the separation of the soul from the body was not delivered as a just consequence of their disobedience, then Adam and Eve would be condemned to eternal corruption - a living death so to speak. Death, as painful and grievous as it is, also makes it possible to shed corruption and return to the primordial state -- not by recreating Eden, but by the transformation of death into an exodus into the Kingdom of God.
That is why Christ entered death. He came to restore the fallen creation by opening the gate to the Kingdom. Because Christ was sinless, the penalty of sin (which is death) was not upon Him. Therefore, His crucifixion on the Cross was a completely self-less and sacrificial act. Further, because Christ was sinless, He could also be raised from the dead. As we know, the Holy Spirit raised Christ from dead after three days.
Note two verses of the Katavasias (hymns) sung during the Orthros service this morning:
The fiery sword no longer guards the gate of Eden, for in a strange and glorious way the wood of the Cross has quenched its flames. The sting of death and the victory of hell are now destroyed, for You have come, my Savior, crying unto those in hell: "Return again to Paradise" (Gen. 3:24; 1Cor. 15:55; 1Peter 3:19)
Pilate set up three crosses in the place of the Skull, two for the thieves and one for the Giver of Life. Seeing Him, hell cried to those below: 'O my ministers and powers! Who is this that has fixed a nail in my heart? A wooden spear has pierced me suddenly, and I am torn apart. Inwardly I suffer; anguish has seized my belly and my senses. My spirit trembles, and I am constrained to cast out Adam and his posterity. A tree brought them to my realm, but now the Tree of the Cross brings them back again to Paradise.
In Christ, who the Apostle Paul calls the "Second Adam" we see the love of God manifested to the same degree we saw in Eden, although now God's love is directed towards the reconciliation of His fallen creation with Himself. In this way, the Cross becomes the Tree of Life, the source through which God's light and life is encountered and experienced in the fallen world. This is one reason why we venerate the Holy Cross. Amen.
Fr. Richard Demetrius Andrews is the pastor of St. George Greek Orthodox Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Fr. Andrews is the past president of Minnesota Eastern Orthodox Christian Clergy Association (MEOCCA), a volunteer chaplain with the St. Paul Police Department.
Fr. Richard Demetrius Andrews is the pastor of St. George Greek Orthodox Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Fr. Andrews is the past president of Minnesota Eastern Orthodox Christian Clergy Association (MEOCCA), and a volunteer chaplain with the St. Paul Police Department.


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(Video) Ballpark Figures: MLB Trade Reaction, Part 2
By Bloomberg Sports //
Ballpark Figures: MLB Trade Reaction, Part 2 — Bloomberg Television's Michele Steele and Bloomberg Sports Fantasy Analyst Rob Shaw discuss the latest deals in Major League Baseball. In the second of a five episode series, Shaw focuses on the fantasy value of former Pirates closer Octavio Dotel and what a move to the Dodgers means for him, why Jake Westbrook should become a valuable hurler for the Cardinals, how Ted Lilly should peak with the Dodgers, and why Ryan Theriot's fantasy value peaks now that he plays every day for the Dodgers. For more fantasy insight, visit us at BloombergSports.com and Twitter.com/Bloombergsports.

subset: commoncrawl


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| 12.6°C Dublin
LAST YEAR'S Grand National third Seabass will make his seasonal reappearance in the Irish Hennessy at Leopardstown on February 9, rather than defend his crown in the Leopardstown Handicap Chase on Saturday.
The Ted Walsh-trained nine-year-old is far higher in the weights than when he was successful 12 months ago, which has persuaded connections to take on the best chasers in Ireland, like Flemenstar and Sir Des Champs, in the Hennessy.
Seabass is then likely to travel over to England for the Racing Plus Chase at Kempton before returning to Aintree to tackle the famous race again.
"The first time you'll see him is in the Hennessy next month," said Pat Glynn, who heads up the Gunners Syndicate, which owns Seabass.
"It was always the plan to go easy on him in the first half of the season as he builds up towards Aintree.
"After the Hennessy we're looking at taking him to Kempton for the Racing Plus Chase.
"We were going to go to that last year but the ground got too quick so we took him to Naas instead and he won there.
"He's back in top form now and he's going well at home. We haven't hunted him or been point-to-pointing with him this year but he's training well.
"We were going to run him at Leopardstown this week in the race he won last year but he's 21lb higher so we'll take them on at levels instead.
"The ground is no issue for him, that's for sure, and he can front run or be dropped in.
"Katie (Walsh) gets on great with him but she's injured at the moment and I'm not sure if she'll be back or not.
"We won't be stuck for a jockey."
There are 32 entries in the Leopardstown Handicap this weekend, with Hidden Cyclone topping the weights.
Call The Police, Quantitativeeasing, Organisedconfusion and Texas Jack are among the entries.


text: Hi, I am very new to dynamic generation of asp.net elements, like TextBox, Tables, Button etc. I have to generate a table run time with a no of text boxes in its columns. The row will be generate on user choice with button add row or delete row. And then I have to enter value in these text boxes of every row and store it into database. Any one plz give me some guidlines.... Thanks, Ranjan.


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Prosecutor and persecutor
Kamala Harris has a complicated record, but her zeal to support abortion and attack its opponents has been consistent
Kamala Harris has a complicated record, but her zeal to support abortion and attack its opponents has been consistent
Pro-lifers, conservatives praise Trump's third SCOTUS pick
Mike Pence has brought a low-key but active approach to the vice presidency
A deadly border clash between Chinese and Indian troops has put relations between the two most populous countries in the world on a precipice
Andrée Seu Peterson / Janie B. Cheaney / Joel Belz / Marvin Olasky / Mindy Belz / The Editors /
Lifestyle / Education / Medicine / Sports / History / Health / Business / Law / Technology / Science / Religion
Dean's List / Metro Minute / Snapshots of China / Sophia's World / Whirled Views /
Documentary / Q&A / Books / Children's Books / Television
Human Race / Quick Takes / Quotables / News
The world tells the tale of the nine North Korean defectors as tragedy.
In June the nine young defectors, all believed to be orphans between ages 15 and 23, followed a Korean missionary couple across the southwestern China border to Laos. That route is a well-used underground railroad; for years, the couple—identified only as Jang and Shin for safety reasons—used that path to guide many defectors safely out of China to South Korea.
This time Laotian authorities arrested them. They deported the nine—seven males, two females—back to China, where authorities sent them back to North Korea. They were last seen on North Korean state-owned television.
The story caused an international uproar. People assailed the Laotian and Chinese governments, blamed the South Korean government, and berated the missionaries for their failing to see the dangers. Everyone agreed someone had failed.
Shin said she was so heartbroken she couldn't utter a word of prayer. "I don't think I've cried this much before in my life, even after my mother died," she said. "I asked God so many times, 'Why, God? Why?' I even told God, 'I don't think I can believe in You anymore.'"
Throughout the ordeal, the couple stayed media-silent. In September, they allowed an interview with CNN. But CNN told their story as a "this-is-what-happened" tragedy—and without any insight into their faith.
Just before Thanksgiving, the missionary couple sat down for another interview with WORLD via Skype. It's been five months since that incident, and they've had time to wrestle God with questions.
This is their story retold, with the one component that changes all things: Christ.
THEY WERE THE Lord of the Flies, the Oliver Twists, the Huckleberry Finns. But Koreans have a special term for these homeless, parentless children: kotjebi, or literally "flowering swallows"—frail birds wandering in the wilderness. The term became popularized after the great North Korea famine in 1995.
These North Korean orphans were both conspicuous and invisible in a community used to such sights. With a chronic glower of hunger, they trolled the streets in gangs like rats. They scavenged, begged, and pitted gang wars over tossed chicken bones. Whatever scraps they collected, they boiled into watery porridge.
When Jang and Shin first started their ministry in 2002, they found one kid running around with a ripped, dangling ear. Another had been beaten so badly by the border patrol guards that the back of his head was crushed, oozing pus sticky with blood-crusted hair. Many had worms; one kid had a two-incher sucking his buttocks.
Some of them had dead parents. Others were abandoned or lost. Either way, they were parentless and alone, drawn to each other by a common gnaw of hunger and loneliness. Most waited until winter, when the Tumen River froze over, to cross over to China by foot.
"It seemed to me that nobody ever seriously considered these children's future," Jang said. "At most, a few passing strangers tossed them food—that was it."
The couple tried to befriend them. They visited them daily to chat, join their little games, and buy them hot food. Every winter the missionaries patrolled the river to help cross-border defectors. Sometimes they found the children huddled and trembling atop cardboard piled over the frozen river.
IN 2009 JANG AND SHIN brought the first orphan home, an 11-year-old boy named Hajin. Jang first spotted Hajin as a dark blob wading across the polluted, freezing river. He rushed over to embrace the kid with his winter coat as soon as he emerged from the water. Despite the sight—a bundled, dripping boy and a coatless, anxious man—they managed to hail a cab and speed home to Jang's wife.
After Hajin, the missionaries continued to house more young defectors. They sneaked many out of China through Southeast Asia; Hajin was one of several who made it safely to South Korea.
Even after the orphans followed them home, they required about a year to really trust Jang and Shin. For months, they pressed their ears against the wall to eavesdrop on the missionaries' conversations, ready to bolt at any sign of betrayal. They even booby-trapped their room. One night, Jang walked in to check on the children and stepped on a bed of nails.
And why should the orphans trust them? They were defenseless, profitable commodities to child and sex traffickers; several had already been sold before and escaped. Nobody had ever shown them love or kindness, so they didn't recognize it when they saw it. To them it made more sense to feel like calves being fattened for slaughter than children welcomed into a family.
TAKING CARE OF THESE ORPHANS was thankless, character-building work. Shin half-joked that she ran away from home a few times. Not only did the children watch them with distrustful eyes, they were wild, impulsive, and aggressive. Each day, they threw fists and curses at each other, tumbling until noses broke into bloody gushes. They lied and cheated about trivial things. When they didn't get their way, they banged their heads on the wall.
It's the strangest thing, Jang said, how quickly humans forget their hunger once their bellies are filled. After six months, the children developed picky eating habits like any other broccoli-hating kids in America. They flailed chopsticks at the best meats and scowled at plain rice. Apparently love for the Colonel's 11 spices is universal; the kids demanded Kentucky Fried Chicken all the time.
"It was a daily warfare," Jang said. "The language they use! Take out all the swear words and you won't even be able to comprehend what they're saying." Yet, once Jang raised his voice, their eyes would water and their lips tremble. "They may be extreme and wild in their behavior, but their psychological state's so frail and sensitive."
Jang said he would not have persevered without Christ's impossibly limitless love. He and his wife bathed and scrubbed the children. They bought them fresh new clothes. They squeezed out the pus from their wounds, shipped medicine from South Korea for their tuberculosis and skin diseases, then rubbed ointment over their sores and rashes.
"We truly tried to take care of them as if they were our biological children," Jang said. "And gradually, they came to understand our sincerity and heart." The orphans started calling them ahbeoji and eomeoni—respectful, endearing terms for "father" and "mother." They became so fond of the couple that they quarreled over sleeping beside them.
IN THE BEGINNING, the couple had big plans for the children: read the Bible together, teach them Mandarin and perhaps some English, so they're prepared for higher education in the real world. But these children couldn't read Korean—or use the toilet. One thought the toilet was a basin and washed her hair in its water; another understood but then tried to scoop out his feces with bare fingers.
Such basic things can be taught quickly; minds and hearts take longer. When Jang criticized North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during dinner, one child flung his spoon across the table and stormed out, screaming, "You think you would mouth such things if you were in North Korea?"
But the greatest challenge was sharing the gospel. None of the kids grasped the concept of God, much less of Jesus Christ. "They can't see God, so how can they believe in something they can't see with their own eyes?" Shin said.
Even the basic concept of sin was foreign, Jang said: "Growing up in North Korea means you have to lie, cheat, and steal to survive. These kids didn't realize that it's sin. They didn't think they were sinners. So to tell them that someone died for their sins? That's just unbelievable to them."
THE MISSIONARIES had to start slowly. They taught them Korean, then read the Bible. They had Sunday school every day: Bible stories, Bible verse quizzes, worship sung in whispers. But Jang realized that such education had its limits—the kids were reciting indoctrinations without letting the gospel actually take root in their hearts. A majority of them flat-out told the missionaries, "I don't believe in God."
But even through their doubts, the children prayed constantly—from asking God to overcome their worries and anxieties to asking for miracles during a life-threatening crisis—and God answered their prayers in sweet, visible ways. Gradually, God went from nonexistent to abstract to a concrete, living, interactive Being.
Jang chuckled as he recalled, "Gosh, we have so many stories! The moment we start sharing all of God's answers to their prayers, we won't be able to stop."
"These kids are desperate enough to pray," Shin added. "They were in constant danger of being deported, so they needed someone to lean on during a time of great fear."
THAT'S WHY IT ALSO ALARMED and disappointed the missionaries to see the children's faith wobble soon after they settled into South Korea. Most of the children transition into schools and live in a dorm or institution. Free and safe in a nation of people who look and talk like them, many North Korean refugees still feel imprisoned by their inability to adjust and belong.
The younger refugees, particularly, lack mentors to guide them through the drastically different South Korean culture, no parent to admonish them when they make mistakes. Many of these youngsters, disillusioned by South Korean society and unfettered by parental authority, slip back into the same rambunctious, streetwise lifestyle they once led in North Korea and China.
They frequently asked Shin, "We experienced so many miracles in China. So why aren't there any here in South Korea?" Shin said it's because they lost their sincere desperation for God. They may still lack peace and stability in their hearts, but all their basic needs are met. They no longer have to worry about being deported or fight over food. They stopped praying.
BEFORE THE MISSIONARIES traveled with the last nine orphans to Laos, they offered a different prayer to God: "Lord, You know what happened to Your children. When they got too comfortable with their lifestyle, they lost their faith and forgot You. Please, don't let these kids become that way this time round. ... If You really have a purpose for them, allow some challenges in their life."
But the couple admitted that after the nine orphans' deportation, they couldn't accept that incident as an answer to that prayer. They wept, wailed at God, and pounded their chests in anguish. Why, when God had performed so many miraculous accomplishments, would He allow such devastating "failure"?
For months, they read the Scriptures, prayed, and finally listened, Jang said. Now, he says he believes "God delivered them to North Korea as martyrs and missionaries … and when God has called them for that purpose, who am I to say no? Who am I to cry, 'No, not my children! You can't use my children!' So I've come to accept God's heart."
Shin said the nine youngsters' faith is stronger than the other refugees she's rescued. This fact gave the couple assurance that the orphans are "Josephs who can implant the foundation of a gospel in a spiritually barren land."
"Living comfortably in South Korea is a blessing. But the biggest blessing is being able to maintain your faith and fulfill God's purpose in your life," said Jang. "These kids may be in North Korea. I know they will suffer there. My human heart is tearing apart at that thought. But I also believe that God has a huge award ready for them."
SO THE COUPLE reshaped their prayer: "We pray that [the children] never forget that they are no longer slaves to sin. That even when imprisoned in darkness, the word of life that's been seeded inside their hearts will help them overcome all hardships and fears. … We hope that one day, when we reunite, they can share many testimonies of how they guarded their faith."
Through a secular viewpoint, the orphans' sufferings seem senseless and devastating, and questions arise: Did the missionaries make a mistake? What went wrong? But a Bible-believing Christian can gain peace and comfort in the faith that the Christ who has risen makes no failure.


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Meet the free software gang
by Matt Lee Contributions — Published on Jun 29, 2010 05:53 PM
Meet the pieces of free software working together to build a complete free software system.
There are thousands of pieces of free software, many of which are listed in our directory of free software, but of these projects, a few dozen are extremely common — we call these the free software gang.
- Amarok — by Matt Lee — last modified Jan 18, 2019 12:37 PM
- Amarok is the music-fan in the group, with everything from ABBA to ZZ Top in his impressive repertoire of music knowledge. If you're looking to play your music, burn CDs for friends or sync up to your portable music player, Amarok is the one program you need.
- Blender — by sdubois — last modified Jan 22, 2019 11:55 AM
- Blender is the master of 3D creation, whether it be a still image or an animated film or even an interactive video game. Blender is the professional grade 3D graphics application capable of all handling all your needs from modelling to rendering and more.
- Drupal — by sdubois — last modified Jan 22, 2019 11:56 AM
- Building a website? Running a blog for your club or team? You've got a friend in Drupal -- being both easy to set up and use, chances are you've used Drupal in some form already, especially if you've visited the website of the White House in recent months. Add to that websites from the likes of CNN, the BBC, Nokia, AT&T and even the Emmy awards, and you'll soon see that Drupal is quite literally, everywhere.
- GNU Icecat — by sdubois — last modified Jan 22, 2019 11:57 AM
- If you're looking to surf the web at speed, but with a concern for your privacy and safety at the same time, look no further than GNU Icecat. As perhaps the most widely installed piece of free software in the world, browsers based on Firefox have become the browsers of choice for the GNU generation, and best of all it runs everywhere — if you're using Windows, a Mac or GNU/Linux, there's a browser for you.
- Gecko — by sdubois — last modified Jan 22, 2019 11:58 AM
- Have you heard of Firefox or GNU Icecat? Well, these programs have a secret weapon — Gecko. At the heart of them is, well, not a fox at all, but a gecko. This little fellow is getting himself into all kinds of software nowadays, from your email client to ticketing machines in train stations and airports — anytime you need to show a webpage, Gecko is ready and willing to lend a hand.
- GIMP — by sdubois — last modified Jan 22, 2019 11:59 AM
- Need to touch-up a photograph or make some images for your web page? GIMP is your answer. A powerful tool with a plethora of features, GIMP raises the bar in the world of bitmap graphics editors. Add to that the myriad of plugins available, GIMP is without a doubt one of the most useful tools available to designers and anyone else in need of an easy to use image editor.
- GNOME — by sdubois — last modified Jul 08, 2010 01:02 PM
- GNOME is the glue that ties some of the best free software applications together. Providing users of free operating systems with an easy-to-understand interface, GNOME makes even the most novice of users' computing experience productive and pleasing.
- GNU — by sdubois — last modified Aug 30, 2011 03:48 PM
- GNU is the project that started it all. Started in 1984 with the goal of creating a free software operating system, GNU has evolved into a collection of tools and applications that are used by millions of computer users around the world. Now, most commonly used with the kernel Linux to create the GNU/Linux operating system, GNU is constantly growing.
- PHP — by sdubois — last modified Aug 28, 2017 10:40 AM
- PHP has become the go-to programming language for many web developers. Its simplicity makes it an ideal language for writing anything from a small image randomizer to a full-featured CMS, and its flexibility allows it to work with nearly any operating system or database.
- Inkscape — by sdubois — last modified Jul 08, 2010 01:04 PM
- For a truly outstanding vector graphics editor, just have a taste of Inkscape. This advanced application does not sacrifice interface design for its powerful set of features that even many proprietary products lack.
- Java — by sdubois — last modified Aug 30, 2011 02:26 PM
- There's nothing like the smell of fresh-brewed code in the morning. Java, a powerful and robust language, can seem a bit daunting at first, but is preferred by many for its ability to work on any computer, regardless of architecture.
- KDE — by sdubois — last modified Jul 08, 2010 01:07 PM
- This full-featured Desktop Environment provides users of free operating systems with an easy to use interface along with a collection of tools and applications designed to make one's computing experience productive while still remaining unique and innovative.
- Linux — by sdubois — last modified Jul 29, 2011 05:06 PM
- Don't let his gentle appearance fool you, this penguin bites! The kernel Linux, today most often used in conjunction with GNU to create the GNU/Linux operating system, is a robust program that is known the world over for its security, stability and flexibility.
- Mozilla — by sdubois — last modified Jul 08, 2010 01:12 PM
- Mozilla is a hugely successful global community and non-profit organization which has been an invaluable project to the free software community. Mozilla produces many highly popular applications including the Firefox web browser and the Thunderbird email client. The Mozilla Foundation's contributions are not limited to producing software, however.
- MySQL — by sdubois — last modified Jul 08, 2010 01:12 PM
- Stable, flexible, extensible. These are just a few words that describe the MySQL database server. This free software database stacks up against similar proprietary products from companies such as Microsoft and Oracle.
- Nautilus — by sdubois — last modified Aug 30, 2011 02:36 PM
- Nautilus is the interface to your filesystem allowing you to navigate through, access, and otherwise manage your files in GNOME. As simple a task as Nautilus was built to perform, it is still impressively simple to use while providing a full set of features including file previews, different folder views, and support for a number of protocols to browse non-local filesystems.
- LibreOffice and OpenOffice.org — by sdubois — last modified Aug 28, 2017 10:43 AM
- The suite of desktop productivity applications known as LibreOffice and OpenOffice.org provides computer users with powerful tools for word processing, presentations, spreadsheets and graphics editing. A major contribution to the free software community, LibreOffice and OpenOffice.org both compete against proprietary office suites while promoting the OpenDocument format (ODF).
- Perl — by sdubois — last modified Jul 08, 2010 01:17 PM
- As scripting languages come and go, Perl has proven it's here to stay. Known for its adaptability and flexibility, Perl can be used in many ways, from basic scripting to network programming.
- Python — by sdubois — last modified Dec 10, 2012 03:30 PM
- Python is a multi-purpose programming language that packs a punch. A popular choice for developers, Python makes writing complex programs less difficult through its clear syntax. Python can be used for writing near anything, from a small desktop application to a powerful web application.
- Ruby — by sdubois — last modified Apr 29, 2015 10:19 AM
- Ruby is a gem of a programming language. Favored by many for its ease of use and flexibility, Ruby is attracting more and more people to programming. Similar in many ways to Python, Ruby can be used to create a variety of programs, from small scripts to large scale web applications.
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When I was six or seven my granny taught me to knit. I wasn't very good at it and would just knit one long thing and because I always forgot how to cast off I'd end up leaving it unfinished. But my granny knitted really well and always had a bag or cardigan on the go and would knit us amazing things like Scooby Doo and Super Ted toys, she would put pencils in their arms and legs to make them straight which would often poke you when you cuddled them, but on the plus side could come in handy for some impromptu drawing. They lasted so brilliantly I passed them on to my daughter and even though she's too old for them now, they can get passed down to the next baby in the family.
I was thinking how nice it would be to make things to pass down through the family or to give as special gifts for friends' babies, so I Googled knitting lessons and the first one that came up was Mrs Moon who, it turns out, are just down the road from me. The beginners knitting patterns on the website looked so impressive that I booked a Beginners Knitting class.
Sisters Karen and Susan opened Mrs Moon in 2009 and they've got some beautiful pattern books and yarn. In the shop they display a few samples they've made from the patterns so you can see what the finished product should look like. They also have a really gorgeous array of buttons.
Karen led the beginners knitting class at the back of the shop and it was nice and cosy with me and just one other person so I got lots of one-to-one help with casting on, knitting, purling and casting off. I was very chuffed with the little square of knitting I had created and amazed at how it all came back to me, I had been convinced I'd forgotten the lot. So, full of excitement, I chose some yarn and knitting needles with the help of Susan so I could go off and knit a scarf.
I've been a bit under the weather this week but that means that I finished my scarf in just two sessions (and caught up on everything that I had recorded that I'm not allowed to watch if anyone else is in the room – One Born Every Minute, Masterchef etc.).
I popped back today for some red wool for a snood, I know it's the wrong season but I don't trust the British weather.
To be honest, when I mentioned that I was going to learn to knit I got more than a little teasing about it. I went along to this class thinking I'd be really rubbish and that it might be a waste of time but I really enjoyed it. I'm going to do a couple more easy patterns and then I think I'll go along to another of their classes so I can make something a bit trickier. Karen and Susan are so friendly and helpful and got me really excited about learning something new. Pop over to their website and have a look, if you order online before 1pm they ship your order the same day.
To find a knitting course near you look at the list on the UK Hand Knitting Association website.
Have you got any knitting stories?


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Lots of insightful publishing and publishing-related tidbits roaming around the internet today! Some I think you will find interesting and learn a good deal from:
IAB Reports 2010 Internet Ad Revenues Up Almost 15 Percent
2010 fourth quarter revenue increases 19 Percent over 2009 Q4.
I wanted to introduce the IAB (the Interactive Advertising Bureau) to you all in this one.
Grading the Tina Brown Newsweek
Packaging, graphics are much improved, but can she walk the "Newsbeast" line?
Sports Illustrated Launches App for Motorola Xoom
App is part of Time Inc.'s "All Access" digital subscription plan.
Could Google's earnings feed doubt across the tech world?
Google's earnings fell short of what analysts were expecting Thursday, sending shares in the tech giant sinking to a six-month low in after-hours trading.
AcademicPub Launches New Custom Publishing Option for Higher Education Community
Faculty Members and Their Students to Benefit from Copyright-Cleared Course Materials Delivered in Real Time and Sourced from Great Diversity of Content Sources
OnSwipe Brings Tablet Publishing To The Browser (TCTV Demo)
Or they can keep on publishing on the Web and display their websites differently to people who visit them via tablet browsers. OnSwipe is a new digital publishing tools company that wants to make mobile browsing as swipe-friendly as a tablet app. …
Great reading and learning nuggets!
Remember to get this great resource blog on your Kindle here!


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Ultra-lubricating cream for a super-close shave that won't leave skin sore. Soothing formula helps drier, more sensitive skin conditions recover from damage and while easing aggravation brought on by shaving.Learn More
Ultra-lubricating cream for a super-close shave that won't leave skin sore.Learn More
Apply to clean, damp skin. Can be applied alone or over Pre-Shave Guard. Shave, rinsing blade often. Rinse shaved area, if desired.
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(Pocket-lint) - Sennheiser and Adidas have joined forces and unveiled five headphones geared towards sports enthusiasts with comfort paramount. Well that and sweat resistance.
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After a week of sun and light wind conditions, today the typical German weather returned to St. Peter Ording beach. Along with the cloud and rain came a steady twenty knots of wind in which we watched the best PKRA kiteboarders compete on the North Sea.
Once again the Kiteboarding World Tour was proud to have a Livestream operating from the judge's tower with one of the official judges commenting in the chat room.
The day started with Reno Romeu (BRA, North) facing the youngest rider on tour Liam Whaley (GBR, Airush), Reno claimed his mind was on the wipeouts happening on the ASP but he managed to focus on his heat enough to go for his fully powered tricks. Liam defended himself well but just couldn't match his more experienced competitor.
Alberto Rondina (ITA, Cabrinha) had a few problems with choosing his kites today as the wind kept changing. During his first heat he went to change from his 9 meter to 11, but as the tide came up his lines became tangled meaning he had no choice but to change back to 9. He unfortunately had the same problem twice today.
The French team had a very bad day as Paris (FRA, North), Hays (FRA, Cabrinha), Garat (FRA, RRD) and Hebert (FRA, North) all lost in the first or second round of the singles. Tom Hebert commented that there wasn't much to say: "Sometimes it's just not your day, you're out there riding and you know you are not doing well and you don't know why, today was like that but we'll all be back in the double elimination!"
Sebastien Garat (FRA, RRD) had to verse one of the best riders of the moment, Marc Jacobs (NZL, Switch) who did everything with a little more height and power than Sebastien, and a nice double back to pass secured him his win.
The onshore wind caused tension in the judges tower today; as it picked up the riders were forced to perform their tricks very close to the water's edge where both the judge's tower and photographers were positioned. There were many close calls when it seemed like we were going to witness kites crashing on the tower however fortunately nobody did. Robinson Hilario (DOM, F-One) however got pretty close when he crashed a 317.
Robinson is new to the tour this year and has been showing very good style with a nice tantrum to blind and very powered front blind mobes. However he was no match for Youri Zoon (NED, Slingshot), current leader of the tour.
Alexander Lewis Hughes reckoned that Youri is riding twice as fast as anybody else on the water, therefore bringing so much more power to all of his tricks. When other riders land their tricks and almost stop or butt check them, Youri pulls of a clean landing and comes down fast taking a lot of risks, which score very well.
Race director Olaf Van Tol said that "the heat between Langeree (NED, Naish) and Zoon (NED, Slingshot) was like witnessing a final of a PKRA event. It took me back to two years ago when the two Dutch riders were fighting over the title together with Aaron Hadlow (5 times world champion)". What could have been a final happened right in the middle of the single elimination and it was an exciting heat. Both riders had a knee injury, Youri actually had to come back twice on tour before this year where he can now show his full potential.
We met with Kevin after his heat, he commented that he was happy to compete against his friend and did all he could. He was however a little disappointed not to have landed his double passes as consistently as he used to. In contrast he did manage to pull off his specialty one handed tricks and was happy to manage a flat 7 off a kicker.
In the girls division we witnessed a moment which will go down in kiteboading history when Karolina Winkowska (POL, Slingshot) met Bruna Kajiya (BRA, Flexifoil) in the semi Finals. All the judges reckoned that the level was insanely high, both girls landed all of their tricks one after another, Blind Judge 3, 313, back to blind, NIS, kite loop 3, etc. Karolina was the one who finally made the difference by landing her first ever low mobe in a PKRA competition. The judges were literally blown away when she landed this trick and she won with a 5-0 decision. She then had to face Gisela Pulido (ESP, Airush) in the finals.
Legendary rider Franz Olry (FRA, Wainman) who used to compete back in the early stages of kiteboarding and is known for shaping the first twin tip was on the beach of St Peter Ording and happy to see all this new generation of riders killing it on the water. He reported ironically that he was offended to see that the young blood could learn tricks which took him weeks to perfect in just days. Franz also remembered the Dominican riders who are now performing so well in the PKRA being little kids, Soto (DOM. F-One), Corniel (DOM, Ozone), and Robinson (DOM, F-One) are all in the third round of the single elimination.
Unfortunately none of the Dominicans will make it into the top 4 overall ranking of the PKRA: Zoon, Pastor, Rondina and Jacobs have now proven once and for all that they are the best riders and provided a high level of riding for the semi finals of this single eliminations.
Alex Pastor (ESP, Airush) versus Rondina (ITA, Cabrinha) was a very close heat, Alex performed a lot of switches, a low mobe 5 and 315, he won based on his variety in comparison to Alberto.
Youri Zoon (NED, Slingshot) is getting more and more confident at every event, Marc Jacobs (NZL, Switch) had one of his best heats but still remained a lot less powered than Youri who advanced into the finals.
Just before the finals Alex Pastor had a small problem that could have turned out to be a big mess. Whilst launching his kite it flew into the flag pole which left a hole in the edge of it. This was only a couple of minutes before his final, fortunately for Pastor his opponent Youri Zoon is a great sportsman and came to help him out, meanwhile the ladies were having their finals.
Gisela Pulido (ESP, Airush) is a very technical rider and therefore chose to perform trick after trick to secure her heat as she knew Karolina Winkowska (POL, Slingshot) would go for more risky powered tricks but might not land them all. This strategy paid off and she won the single elimination, proving her supremacy on the women's division with 4 wins out of 5 events this year. But the doubles remains…
The final of the singles was a trick spectacular as expected. All of the judge's sheets were full after the heat and both riders gave a great show. We met with both riders after the heat and Alex admitted that this wasn't his best run of the day. Youri Zoon (NED, Slingshot) was on fire as usual and won the single elimination meaning that he remains undefeated after five events!
Official Results of the Single Eliminations:
1. Youri Zoon (NED, Slingshot)
2. Alex Pastor (ESP, Airush)
3. Alberto Rondina (ITA, Cabrinha)
1. Gisela Pulido (ESP, Airush)
2. Karolina Winkowska (POL, Slingshot)
3. Bruna Kajiya (BRA, Flexifoil)
The conditions remained suitable into the afternoon so we started the double eliminations on nice flat water as the tide began to go out. The highlight of this stage was Tom Hebert (FRA, North) who was killing it in his heats. Before the weather turned again and action was postponed we witnessed Tom power through, firstly his heat against Mike Blomvall (SWE, Nobile) and then Ariel Corniel (DOM, Ozone). Tom is locked in a close fight for fifth overall place with his team-mate Reno Romeu (BRA, North). Since Tom won his heat he now has the advantage over Reno who is in a pending heat against Kevin Langeree (NED, Naish)… not the easiest competitor…
Tomorrow will be the last day in St Peter Ording and the conditions look very promising, we will finish the doubles and you can follow all the action LIVE on: live.prokitetour.com
Check us out on: www.prokitetour.com and on facebook


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TiVo Premiere: Still the Best Way to Watch TV
Today's Best Tech Deals
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TiVo Premiere
TiVo Premiere is the first true overhaul of the TiVo experience since the company changed our TV-watching world over a decade ago. True, TiVo didn't invent the DVR, but the company did such a good job making it usable that the word "TiVo" has become a verb, one that's synonymous with all DVRs, just as Kleenex is to tissues. This fourth-generation TiVo features cosmetically -tweaked hardware, but it has significant changes under the hood and, more important, it introduces a redesigned interface and new features optimized for high-definition TV and a Web-connected era.
The new interface makes TiVo all the more appealing; however, cost remains the primary barrier to adoption. TiVo Premiere is $299 for the basic 320GB model, plus monthly service fees that start at $12.95, with discounts for long-term contracts (price as of 3/24/2010). (For more recording capacity, there's the $499 1TB TiVo Premiere XL, which can record 150 hours of high-def video.)
If you're a fan of the current TiVo models, the interface changes in the Premiere will be immediately obvious. Gone are the stretched, low-res screens formatted for standard-definition TVs. In their place are high-def-resolution graphics and a snazzy design that presents top-level menus on the left side of the screen and drill-down submenus on the right (previously, these submenus were presented as separate screens entirely). By bringing the submenus up a level, a lot more information can be presented on a screen, with a far less wrangling with the remote control. Fonts are smaller and clearer, and the design has a more dramatic use of color. The upper-right corner displays the current TV channel while you're digging around in the menus, and a beautiful "Discovery Bar" populates the top of the screen with all sorts of content related to whatever it is you currently have selected.
The new TiVo Premiere units are slimmer and sleeker than previous revisions, with simple, colored circular lights on the front to show you if the unit is on or recording a program, or what actions you may be performing with the remote. Sadly, the handy OLED screen from the Series 3 that displays the time and names of the shows being recorded has been excised. Older TiVos could record two channels at once from cable or over-the-air, but required two single-stream CableCards to receive two cable channels.
By contrast, Premiere has a single CableCard slot, but supports multistream cards (M-cards), so it can still record two channels at once, even while you watch a previously-recorded show. Though the menus have slightly altered names and a new look, navigation in general will be familiar to anyone who has used TiVo before. The channel guide can be switched between the excellent two-pane Live Guide view and the familiar Grid view you find on most other DVRs.
The ergonomic, comfortable-to-use peanut-shaped remote is still here, and looks much as it always did; those "Thumbs Up" and "Thumbs Down" buttons, whereby you tell TiVo which programs you like so it can learn to automatically record stuff it thinks you might want to check out are still there. So are the satisfying "bla-bloop" sounds. Want to interact with the screen more? An optional remote, to be available later this year, will have a slide-out keyboard (it will retain the peanut shape, but will be stouter).
Though many core features are the same, others have been tweaked for the better. If the show or actor you're searching for doesn't have any programs in the guide, it's easier than ever to set up a WishList search so you don't miss it in the future. The skip-forward button can be toggled between the old functionality (skipping forward to the end of a show) and a new 30-second scan feature that very rapidly moves forward 30 seconds for each press of the button. You'll catch a glimpse of the ads this way, but the movement is so fast you'll hardly notice them. (Users pining for the old "30-second skip" Easter egg remote code will be happy to know it still works.)
Your recorded library, formerly known as "Now Playing" and now renamed "My Shows," finally displays exactly how much space you're using on your TiVo's hard drive. Search results are displayed in order of popularity by default, so you're more likely to find what you're looking for without laboriously typing in long strings of text with the remote.
The Discovery Bar is perhaps the best feature of the new TiVo. Hover over "My Shows," and it presents a combined list of TV shows and movies that are similar to the things you like. Select a particular show, and the bar narrows down recommendations to programs that are similar to that show, or are given the "thumbs-up" by other TiVo users who also like that program. In the options menus you can customize the Discovery Bar to show more or less of certain types of content. If you don't want as many movie recommendations, premium paid content, or "showcases" of a particular genre or actor, you can lower those priorities and raise others.
In my use, this feature worked well and can easily turn you on to things you might not have otherwise tried. In some ways it's reminiscent of the philosophy behind the latest Zune software, which emphasizes discovering new stuff just as much as consuming the stuff you already know and love. TiVo is using its rich database of statistical info on user behavior and preferences to help you find new content, and it's a welcome breath of fresh air.
The new Series 4 software is also more Web-connected than ever before. Services like Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Video on Demand, Blockbuster, and Rhapsody are well integrated to all aspects of the experience. Look up a movie, and if it's not coming on cable anytime soon, you can watch it directly from Netflix streaming or rent it from Amazon (if available). These services seem to run as their own applications, with slightly different interfaces than the main TiVo Central screen. Still, at least your searches pull in data not only from your cable TV programming, but from these services as well. One of the benefits of building the interface on Flash is that it will make be easier for TiVo to integrate additional services (for example, Pandora will be added later this year). The Web integration is far superior to what you get from a typical cable DVR.
For all the features that are well-executed, TiVo Premiere is not without its sore spots. If you dig into the menus beyond the basic "find and watch TV, movies, and music" functions, you're back into the old TiVo standard-def interface. This will be common in the first few days as you reorder your Season Pass priority list and futz around in the system menu, but it won't often be seen once you have everything up and running the way you like it. TiVo says many of these menus will be upgraded to the new HD look over the coming weeks and months. Also, it's still difficult to schedule a Season Pass to record only the shows that come on at a certain hour if new episodes are aired multiple times a day, or if a program always uses a generic description in the guide info (aka "The Daily Show problem").
Despite the old single-core 300MHz Broadcom processor being replaced with a dual-core 400MHz model, and the RAM being doubled (from 256MB to 512MB), I found that menu navigation could sometimes be a little slow and unresponsive. This happens especially in loading thumbnail graphics in the Discovery Bar. TiVo says that it is aware of this problem, and that it should be addressed in a software update that will be available when TiVo Premiere units start shipping to customers. I also found a few small text formatting problems as well; TiVo says these should be likewise fixed in a software update.
With TiVo Premiere, the company cements its reputation as the premier (if you'll pardon the pun) DVR experience on the market. The greatest obstacle to TiVo adoption remains its sticker shock: That $300 or $500 for a box, together with a recurring monthly fee or a big lifetime subscription fee, seems like a lot of money. But you'll almost certainly pay a fee to lease a DVR from your cable company, and over the years the TiVo approach may actually be cheaper. Still, laying out that much money up front just for a better experience may seem like a lot to ask.
Bottom line? Despite the cost of entry, I can highly recommend TiVo Premiere to anyone fed up with the sorry functionality of their cable DVR, especially those who make use of Web services like Netflix or Amazon Video on Demand. It's a small price to pay for a vastly better TV-watching experience.
This story, "TiVo Premiere: Still the Best Way to Watch TV" was originally published by PCWorld.
TiVo Premiere
Though not as polished as it should be, the TiVo Premiere is still the best DVR on the market and leagues better than the typical DVR from your cable company.
- Fantastic new HD interface
- Excellent integration of Web services
- Excellent integration of web services
- Fantastic new HD interface
- Slightly sluggish performance at times
- Software feels slightly unfinished
- Software feels slightly unfinished
- Slightly sluggish performance at times


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Wednesday, January 07, 2009
See the music
The visual experience did not just come from album sleeves. Would I have grown to love classical music without Christopher Nupen's Jacqueline du Pré portrait, Ken Russel's Elgar film, and Lucino Visconti's Death in Venice, which is seen below?
In the 60s there were light shows at rock concerts, psychedelic posters for gigs, and a riot of typographic experimentation in underground magazines. There was art from rock stars, and even customised cars. Seen below is Janis Joplin's Porsche - I wonder how many LA Phil subscribers decorate their Toyota Priuses?
In the age of downloads and miniaturiation classical music has lost its visual impact. Is that why we have also lost the connection with younger audiences? Is the success of world and early music not just due to its rhythmic links with rock, but also because it offers visual entertainment with its exotic performers and their novel instruments. What visual entertainment is their for young eyes in the Rite of Spring, other than this superb 1973 CBS album cover designed by Richard Hess?
This is going to be one of those maddening posts that asks questions without providing answers. But, shouldn't we be making classical music more visual to attract younger audiences? Alexander Scriabin pioneered musical notation for light and color. His 1909 symphonic poem 'Prometheus: the Poem of Fire' is notated for the Luxe, a custom designed light projector which Scriabin himself controlled from a colour keyboard. This was built in Russia by physicist Alexander Moser, and the performances of Prometheus in Moscow and in New York were the first ever concerts with light shows. More than half a century later light shows became an integral part of rock concerts, below is Bill Haim's Liquid Light Show.
The problem is how to add the visual appeal, as exemplified by the Deutshe Gramophon LP sleeve of Stockhausen's Sirius below, without turning the concert into a circus. Binning the tuxedos is not the answer. 'Hedgehog' complained here recently about the London Symphony Orchestra's experimental use of video in its concerts. But video projection of the organist at the St Remy Organ Festival in France worked for me. Surtitles are established in the opera house. Would back projection of close-ups of players mixed with abstract images by a top-flight light designer attract younger concert goers without alienating the rest of the audience? I'm not sure. Comments, as always, very welcome.
* The non-classical images (1,3 & 5) are from "Summer of Love: Art of the Psychedelic Era" which was at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 2007.
Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk
8 comments:
- La Cowntessa said...
I guess a good example of a recent sort of this is Richard Einhorn's oratorio written for Dreyer's The Passion of St. Joan of Arc. In performances (in which Anonymous 4 has performed), the movie is shown on a back screen, while the symphony, chorus and soloists performed.
From what I understand, all the performances of this were completely sold out, and it was a very popular concert for several years. I would have loved to see it myself.
- 5:20 pm
- Pliable said...
Email received:
I too decry the poor quality of sound these days, and the inability, even the disinterest, in the listening public to demand better sound.
They are dazzled by gizmos, surround sound, etc., and therefore don't realize the QUALITY of such product has diminished greatly. How, then, do we expect them to appreciate delicate sounds such as the tremolos of the strings in Pini di Roma, or the wonderful whispers emanating from Stockhausen's DG recording of Stimmung, or the intimacy of the clavichord. At the other end, how can they properly feel the bass drum in La Valse, or the menacing double-basses in Elektra if they are only used to the boom-boom of distorted speakers playing equally-distorted-in-recording house-music.
I still enjoy "wowing" friends and relatives who have surround sound systems (bought from Wal-Mart or Future Shop so you can well anticipate the quality) with my simple and quite inexpensive, but still higher-end, PSB speakers, Bryston amp and pre-amp and a simple, 20 year old Rotel CD player.
David Cavlovic
- 5:47 pm
- Unknown said...
This is a very clever post Pliable, and you've hooked me as a new reader.
I'm 23--so this question as you might suspect has occurred to me on several occasions, though I've never written it out as succinctly as you do here.
Why not take classical music to the visual? As a filmmaker friend once explained to me (while we were watching another student's project, in which tchaikovsky's romeo and juliet was the soundtrack to a series of related but aleatory visual scenes): "The film is explaining how the music works".
I thought this was a brilliant comment. I've just seen a video by Ake Falck of Alexis Weissenberg performing Stravinsky's Petrouchka. The camera moves and dives into the piano, the lights shift, it's like adult fantasia. What the visual does here is drastically enhance an already breathtaking piano performance. In that same vein, fantasia, and for that matter (though more simplistically) Looney Tunes en'light'ened classical music for several generations of children who wouldn't otherwise touch the stuff. Lastly, I recently saw a recording of the Yo La Tengo / Underwater films of Painlevé performance that happened last year at Lincoln Center. Amazing, and the same affect. Rather than simply providing a soundtrack for the visual happenings, what a successful "combine" does is inform both: the visual is certainly enhanced, but it's fascinating to hear how the music changes, becomes fuller, saturates, is too informed.
Synesthesia shouldn't be withheld as a lofty gift of a few crazies (Scriabin and many other artists desire to assume proprietary rights on the syndrome). We all have it--you can't separate dance from music or vice versa. Orchestra directors should consider this as they try to find a middle ground between programming more of the same into each season, and resorting to playing concerts of XBox 360 tunes to sell houses.
- 6:48 pm
A couple of months ago I went to the movie theater (a big new one with super sound systems) to see the HDTV film of the Metropolitan Opera's production of Berlioz' La damnation de Faust. The sound was often -- let's say compromised. The balance seemed off, and a grinding scratch was frequently audible. I don't know whether this was a problem with the recording or the replaying, but an opera movie really ought to take its sound seriously. On another point you make, this production made great use of elaborate projection systems. During the great aria for the betrayed heroine, the singer's face was projected, vast, behind her, in real time, surrounded by flickering flames. Well, ALMOST in real time; the inevitable (apparently) fraction-of-a-second lag made Susan Graham (whose singing was absolutely ravishing) seem to be lip-synching herself. It was horribly distracting and suggested that the director, Robert Lepage, didn't actually trust the music and the singer.
So for me this represented a failure both of recorded music quality and of live performance enhancement with projections. (Elsewhere in the performance the projections were more effective.)
- 2:42 am
- Trevor Burrows said...
Not to reduce your excellent post to just one image... but thanks for posting that "Rite of Spring" lp cover. It's fantastic!!!
- 6:55 am
- Keith said...
Could your daughter's mind be adding the overtones and harmonics that the small speakers on her television cannot reproduce? There is evidence that 'categorical perception' of both pitch and rhythm develops with early musical training. 'categorical perception' means that your daughter may hear a ring tone on a phone playing a cadence or theme, and then simply recognise the cadence as a gestalt, perhaps being able later to 'hear' the theme on her piano.
Have a look at Sloboda's The Musical Mind. Just throwing an idea into the mix!
- 9:16 am
- mrG said...
imho, we don't need more graphic design, and we don't need more bass enhancers or laser shows or featured soloists with blue hair and piercings.
Today's young are a networked-people, they know the score, to pardon the pun, and they think they've heard every variation (to pardon another) but seriously, what means something to them is not adherence to Edwardian fashion and cold sober rituals of existentialism, what they want is connection. Not connection to the dots on the page, not to the composer, not to the days of yore encoded in some work, they want to connect with YOU, with all of you, with the third violinist, with the person in Seat 12B, they want to feel they are part of something that includes them, and they want to be not a consumer, not a patron, not a pretend patron, not a poser, they want to be one of the in-crowd when they get included.
I think far too much of the 'classical' work does exactly the opposite, and it wasn't always this way, this is a new twist in the telling of musical stories through orchestrated ensemble work. (I blame Leopold Stokowski for the Hollywood glam-rock remaking of classical music) So much of the show ritual and image peddling on even the CD covers is saying you're not educated enough, not rich enough, not highly born enough to buy this CD, and that just doesn't wash with the modern audience. Their favourite singer is an ex-stripper, and they know that, but they love Gaga anyway and celebrate her burlesqueness because that's who she is and that's fine with them.
Give them Evelyn Glennie and they're all over it, because they identify with her, she's like 'regular' people and she welcomes them by being just like them, earnest but vulnerable, human. I think the success of El Sistema is largely because people identify with the kids, and the kids can identify with everyone involved, and it becomes a social, societal, tribal thing, a place to belong, to be included.
So, speaking of questions without offering answers, how do we do that? How do we make classical music more like a Jamaican jump-up? ;) I think we can all agree that we play the music well enough, our chops are up to speed, so what's left? Attitude, perhaps, for one, but also maybe we need to look at the ritual execution of the work too, at the pre-game and post-game social process, which is precisely what the more ecologically-valid Internet-era citizen composers/ensembles are doing :)
We need to dismantle the super-star mindset, the stellar trained seals are amazing to watch, yes, but television tells us there is a better trained seal over in Korea, so what? The kids know the score, they see viral videos every day, twenty times a day. What they don't see is a Welcome sign and I think that's where we should learn most from El Sistema, that it isn't about improving the salesmanship of the players, it is about the whole network of being-included that begins in youth and runs right up to the National Orchestra, part of the fabric of the society, not an exclusive club, but just regular everyday this is what we do mindset, and really, who cares if Beethoven is played absolutely 'correctly'? -- it is played most 'correctly' when it serves its anthropological destiny, and that can happen with an orchestra entirely of first year players! We've been worshiping the wrong stuff pursuing only the tonality and precision of the execution, we've neglected the human dimension, the social dimension which is the foundation of all the world's musics. If we rekindle that, I think we'll be amazed at how much all our hard-practiced pony-tricks will suddenly amaze people :)
- 5:52 pm
- mrG said...
case in point: Canadian National Youth Orchestra staged a flash mob -- notice what they choose to do (dance) and further, notice the tune they chose to play (Brazil!)
- 7:13 pm